This invention relates generally to fiberglass doors having a simulated, molded, wood grain texture. The formation of compression-molded doors from molding resins and reinforcing glass fibers is well known in the art. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,550,540, assigned to Therma-Tru Corporation, and which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a process of providing compression molded doors. The door exterior surface has molded therein fine texture details designed to simulate the grain of a wood door.
It is also known in the art to provide compression-molded, pigmented doors having a simulated wood grain in which the pigmentation is applied to the fibers and molding composition during the door molding process. The pigmented door assemblies may be seen in reference to U.S. Pat. No. 5,932,314 assigned to Therma-Tru Corporation and which is incorporated herein by reference.
Other pigmented compression-molded doors are seen in reference to U.S. Pat. No. 5,934,040 to Chen and which is incorporated herein by reference. In the Chen patent, specific pigments are provided within the raw materials used to form the door surfaces. While such techniques are useful in providing a door having a uniform color, such pigmentation processes do not mimic the natural wood color and/or appearance of a real wood door.
A staining system for thermoset and thermoplastic doors is provided in U.S. Pat. No. 6,201,057 assigned to Therma-Tru Corporation and which is incorporated herein by reference. The process in the '057 patent applies a stain followed by a unique top coat of polyurethane having organo-polysiloxane micro emulsions. As stated in the '057 patent, the desired top coat contains weatherability agents which bring about unexpected improvements in the durability of the polyurethane layer.
Frequently, fiberglass or other compression-molded, surface-textured doors are supplied with white pigmentation to facilitate consumers who may choose to paint a door. However, when solid color paints or stains are directly applied to fiberglass doors, the results are disappointing to many consumers. The resulting painted or stained door is unrealistic in appearance and the surface pigmentation is easily damaged.
Molded, textured doors are also provided having pigments added to the molding compounds so as to provide the resulting door exteriors with pigments which are selected to simulate a wood coloration. It is also known to apply wood stains or paints to compression-molded doors. However, the results do not approach the aesthetic look of a genuine, wood grain door. Further, it is difficult to maintain a consistent door appearance, particularly when using stains, from one manufacturing batch to another. As a result, retail outlets and consumers often receive door components which do not match accessories such as sidelights or, if replacement of a portion of a door assembly is required, the stained components may not match.
Despite advances and improvements within the art, there remains a need for a pigmentation process for a textured, molded door, such as a fiberglass door, which imparts a natural and realistic wood grain pigmentation to the door surface. Further, there remains a need in the art for a door pigmentation process which is compatible with a variety of conventional molded doors.